Ice-breaker (Week 17 - Iceland)

The fish was lovely, we all enjoyed this and it was so simple to make. I would have preferred more breadcrumbs, and will do that next time. I did the simple salad with it, and nearly forgot to add the cooked onions. As a pudding I made the ‘Wedding Bliss’ cake, which we all loved. My husband described it as a cross between flapjack and a crumble! The only alteration I would make it less dough in before the ‘jam’ is spread on – or a bigger tin to thin it out a little more. It wasn’t until I made the ‘boneless birds’ that I realised that we had eaten a variation of this before from Netherlands. Incidentally, the research did conclude that what was native to Iceland is considered traditional, but there were many imported food variations; maybe this was one of them. In any case, this one did not have nutmeg, so would seem to be a bland meal; yet I cooked it with onions and mushrooms and thickened the ‘gravy’ and it was very tasty. But, not for one member of the family, as my son did not like it too much, to the point he didn’t want to eat any more. So, the score for this one has been affected by my sons dislike, whereas my husband loved it. On the other hand he liked the ‘bread’ yet me and husband didn’t. In actual fact I blended it the next day and mixed in some  fruit and gave it to the birds….


Next week we are off to Belgium, somewhere where my husband treated me to a few days away on my own, before children!

Cooked with score (out of 100):
Steiktur fiskur í raspi (Crumbed fish).........................97
Beinlausir fuglar (Boneless Birds)..............................68
Hjónabandssæla (Wedded Bliss Cake).......................97
Hveitibrauð með lyftidufti (Baking-powder bread)….60


All recipes from: www.isholf.is

Steiktur fiskur í raspi - Crumbed fish

Ingredients:

2kg Fish – skin and bones removed (Sole, flounder, cod, haddock or other white fish
¾ cup breadcrumbs
1 egg
250g Margarine
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp fish spice mix
Dash pepper
Splash milk


Method:

1. Break the egg and beat to break the yolk, add a splash of milk (if using) and mix well. Mix salt and spice with breadcrumbs. Cut the fish into pieces, across the fillet. Width of pieces can range from 2½ to 5 cm (1-2 inches), depending on taste. (Just make the pieces uniform in size.)
2. Set up your workplace: first, a plate with fish pieces, then a bowl with beaten egg, then a bowl with breadcrumbs, then the heated frying pan on the stove.
3. Melt half the margarine/butter (or use equivalent in cooking oil) on a medium hot frying pan. When the margarine stops frothing, add the onion slices to the pan and fry until it begins to brown. Remove from the pan, and add the rest of the margarine. 
4. Now you can start frying the fish: Coat a piece of fish in egg, roll to cover in breadcrumbs, and put on the pan to fry. Continue until all the fish is on the pan. Turn when the underside of the pieces begins to brown, and fry on other side until golden brown.
5. Arrange the fish pieces on a serving plate, quickly heat the onions through on the pan, and pour onions and the remainder of the frying fat over the fish. If you want the fish to be less greasy, you can serve the onions and fat on the side.
6. Serve with lemon wedges, a fresh salad and cooked potatoes. This salad is also good with crumbed fish: 2 med. Tomatoes, ½ cucumber and 1 tbsp. Mayonnaise. Cut tomatoes and cucumbers into 1/2 cm thick slices, and then cut slices into narrow strips. Put in a bowl with the mayonnaise and stir to coat the vegetables.
    

Beinlausir fuglar - "Boneless Birds"

NB: This was very similar to a dish we had from Netherlands.

Ingredients:

1 ½ kg Lamb, beef or horse meat
100g bacon
50g butter / margarine
30g flour
500ml water
Salt and pepper to taste

 

Method:
Cut the meat into thin slices, and roll each in a mixture of salt and pepper. Put a slice of bacon on each slice of meat, roll up and tie up with twine. Brown them in a hot pan. Add the water and cook until done through. Use the flour to thicken the sauce. Serve with potatoes, rhubarb jam and green peas or Serve with potatoes - boiled or caramelised - and a fresh salad.

 

Hveitibrauð með lyftidufti - Baking-powder bread

Ingredients:

500g Flour (or 400g flour and 100g wholewheat)
6 tsp baking powder
1 ½ tsp sugar
1 ½ tsp salt3
00-350ml milk (or milk and water)
Milk or egg for brushing


Method:
Sieve together the dry ingredients, and add most of the milk. Knead until smooth, adding milk as needed. Form into a loaf and bake immediately. Make cuts into the loaf and brush it with milk or beaten egg before baking. Bread should be baked on the lowest rung in the oven, at 175°-200°C, for about an hour. It will be crusty and tastes best while warm with butter and cheese.

 

Hjónabandssæla - Wedded Bliss

Ingredients:

200ml Oatmeal
100ml Flour
100ml Whole wheat flour
100ml brown sugar, well packed
100 g butter/mar semi-soft
¼ tsp baking soda (optional)
1 egg
As needed, rhubarb jam or stewed prunes


Method:

1. Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl. Add the butter/margarine and mix well with your hands. Add the egg and mix well.
2. Press the dough into a round baking tin, saving some for the topping. Spread with the jam and crumble the rest of the dough over the cake. You can also use the leftover dough to make a pie lattice for the cake.
3. Bake at 200°C for approx. 20 min. or until the cake takes on a dark, golden colour. Can be eaten hot or cold.

Country

Iceland has strong historic links to Scandinavia. It is a sparsely populated island  - the most westerly in Europe - of bleak moors, mountains, glaciers and snow fields, volcanoes, warm springs and geysers. Many Icelanders live by fishing, farming and tourism. The same energy which heats the islands hot springs provides power to heat homes and greenhouses, where vegetables and flowers are grown. No one pays for hot water on Iceland, but everyone pays a premium for cold.

CUISINE

According to various websites Iceland eats what is can lay its hands on and in simple fashion, often using leftovers to create other dishes. Some of the things I will not be trying are fermented shark, or puffin in milk (Mjólkursoðinn lundi). The climate in Iceland is too cold for growing fruit, and those vegetables that do grow are all originally imports. Bilberries and crowberries are the only native species of berries worth mentioning. Vegetables, such as tomatoes (really a fruit), cucumbers and peppers are grown in hothouses, and potatoes, carrots, rutabagas, cabbages and rhubarb grow readily if provided with the right soil. Some hothouse farmers grow tropical fruit for family consumption, such as figs and bananas, but otherwise all fruit is imported.  Therefore there are not really any traditional recipes for fruit, and few for vegetables.  The most widely consumed meat in Iceland is lamb and mutton, but consumption of poultry (mostly chicken), pork and beef is on the rise. Horse-meat is also eaten.  Eating whale meat is a highly sensitive issue, but many will buy it whenever possible. Some people also eat seal. Game is also popular, such as reindeer, goose, ptarmigan and some types of sea-birds, especially puffin. 

Traditionally, fish is either cooked and eaten fresh, or preserved by salting (söltun), drying (þurrkun), smoking (reyking), or partly drying (siginn fiskur). Skate (skata and tindabykkja) and shark (hákarl) are allowed to ferment  (kæsing).  The most common fish caught off Iceland's shores is cod (þorskur), which is mostly exported. The majority of Icelanders prefer to eat haddock (ýsa).  The traditional way of serving fish, whether fresh or preserved, is as "soðning": plain, boiled fish, served with potatoes and sometimes with melted sheep's tallow.